St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-29
JINGLE OF THE GUINEA.
Blethen and the Tribune After Elder
Stewards Scalp.
TWO ENORMOUS LIBEL SUITS
Of S100, 900 Each---A Resume of the
Deadly War Brought
TO Date.
Filthy lucre.

That is what the Tribune wants. And
that walking imperSOnatiOn of all that
is good and kind-Elder Stewards ex-
pected to furnish it. Two hundred
thousand dollars damages! How proud
and important must feel William
Buckley, guiding star OF the
once luTld but now wan
would have been proud and pleased to
have sold two columns of Newsletter
space for $50 each. and felt rich and
luxurious, but now the Tribune arises
and places on each of two columns
valuation of 100000 cold, hard dollars.
Lacerated feelings and damaged bust
ness to the extent of fabulous fortune,
and all of it directed against the abused
Elder Stewart.
Two enormous libel suits.
In one the Tribune demands 100000
damages, and in the other A. j. Blethen
demands an equal sum. Thus the
whirligig of time brings many changes
and sets all things even. Elder Stewart
has about thirteen suits against the
Tribune, claiming damages in the
neighborhood of 100000, and the
Tribune at one fell swOop evens up the
account by asking about the same sum.
The case has history, and the Tribune'S
appeal OF yesterday to the lex talioniS
will not be understood without some
slight glimpse of the preceding trouble.
Once Stewart and the Tribune were
friends. In those halcyon days, a man
named Smith had some nursery dealings
with the elder and the latter conceived
he was wOrsted. Accordingly he wrote
roast on Smith and went to the Trib-
une with it. Willie Edouin Haskell, the
Qigure)head of the editorial department,
do al 10, N,s, q Il
Smith was friend of his. The elder then
sought Blethen, read his MS. with ora
torical fervOr and the next morning it ap
peared in the Tribune. But when col
lection day rolled around, small boy
waited on the elder with a bill for the
roast. at SO much per line. The elder
demurred and claimed privileged COM
munication. Blethen marked the bill
o. K. and the elder paid it.
But he vowed vengeance.
He dipped his quill in carmine ink and
wrote another roast. but this time
Blethen and the Tribune were the sub
ject. He waited on the several daily
papers, but his contribution was
declined with thanks. 1t was
too long and the subject was
it to the News Letter. and, by some
means not yet developed, secured its
insertion. Friendship then ceased and
be-loOdy war began. In the Sunday is
sue of the Tribune is All occasional de-
partment in which anonymous writer's
are sometimes permitted to work off
abuse, which is frequently afterward
retracted editOrially. The mud guns of
this department were uncOnsciOuSly di-
rected against the truly good elder, and
he was despatched but with
out the subsequent and usual edi-
torial retraction. For time he
returned the fight in kind, but finally
gave it up and sought relief in the
courts: Actions for damages, in libel, of
Levi NJ. Stewart VS.. the Minnesota
with such frequency that special re-
porter was detailed to take care of them,
from news stand point. These cases
are now pending. Occasionally one is
called and continued, but it still ponds.
These suits were editorially mentioned
by the abused and injured Tribune, and
the threat was made that heavy counter
suits would follow. But they did not,
and the bluff was considered called.
They came yesterday.
Two fOrmidable-lOoking documents
were filed at the district court, and
proved to be the complaints. The first
is the Tribune VS.. l.. M. Stewart, de-
handing 100000 damages, and alleging
as cfiuSe of action that the defendant
had inserted over his own name in the
Newsletter of July 81, 1886, COM
municatiOn containing 1.-The following
scandalous, false and malicious Ian
guage::"
Instead of being penurious, l gave
away in charity, every year, more than
the whole Tribune company is worth,
above its debts"
The plaintiff alleges that by reason of
this publication, it has been damaged in
the sum named. The second suit is
brought by Alden j. Blethen and is
based on second of the Stewart letters,
published in the News Letter of Aug. z,
1886, which alleged, among other things,
that ''Mr. Blethen was such a fearful
and reckless mud singer and stencil
stirrer, that they would do almost any
thing, or refuse to do it, rather
than have him open his
skunk batteries on them.' Another
portion of the article complained of is:
MIR. Blethen tries to convey the i'm
preston that he is a member of the
Tribune company, instead of simply an
emplOye of the company. which fOrci-
bly, reminds one of the story of How
we apples SWIM" This publication.
Mr.. Blethen claims, damaged him to the
extent of 100000.
The entries have not yet closed.
Elder Stewart now has the floor. but
he must file his answer with the court.
He does not, alas! own paper with
mud gun department.